The New Akatsuki Member
by ShinySaphire
Summary: After being forced to join the Akatsuki the new girl gets put on a mission with Itachi, who is not very nice to her. What will happen in the relationship between Itachi and a new member of the Akatsuki? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1 : Cold As Ice

New Akatsuki Member: Itachi Two Shot Part One

_First Chapter: Cold As Ice_

It was a rainy day as Itachi and Kisame walked through the forest towards their destination. They had already caught the four tails and had been reassigned to the three tails, which they have also caught. They are no longer assigned to catch Naruto, the nine tails. Now that they had caught both their tailed beasts they were going to recruit someone Pain wanted to add to their organization.

As usual they were walking in silence, when Itachi unexpectedly asked, "So what's this guy look like?" At the mission briefing Itachi was busy getting his eyes looked at, so Pain explained it to Kisame.

Kisame opened the file Pain had given him, "Blonde, green eyes, 5.5ft, and goes by the name Hotaru," Kisame answered.

"Another girl?" Itachi asked.

"Guess so. Maybe Pain is getting tried of only being able to look at Konan," Kisame laughed.

"The other three girls he's added aren't good enough," Itachi responded.

"Hey you have to admit they are all really strong. And with us getting closer to our goal we will need all the manpower we can get. No pun intended," Kisame added.

"They're annoying, worse than Tobi," Itachi said.

Kisame laughed, "Only because they all want you," Kisame said, laughing some more. Itachi just glared at him and kept silent.

Hotaru was from the Mist village originally, but her parents fled to the Waterfall village fearing their and her safety because of the ice release Kekkai Genkai they knew she would someday activate. Since that time both of her parents have died, so she makes a living as a Waterfall ninja. With Haku dead she is the last person to have the ability to make ice using water and wind chakra, which is why Pain wants her to join the Akatsuki.

Today, just like every other day was no different, she would check in to see if there were any missions but most of the time there wouldn't be so she would go train in the woods nearby.

It was almost noon when Hotaru realized she was hungry, "Guess that's enough training for now," she said out loud. As she started walking back she heard a stick brake and quickly spun around. "Nothing," Hotaru said. As she turned back she was letting out a sigh of relief, but it just got caught in her throat when she turned and saw two Akatsuki members standing in front of her.

"Our leader sent us to ask you to join the Akatsuki," Kisame said.

"Uh? No thank you," Hotaru said.

"You don't have a choice," Itachi said.

"Then what was the point in asking me?" Hotaru asked.

"To give you the opportunity to come peacefully," Itachi said.

"Oh," Hotaru responded then she thought it over.

"If she doesn't want to come willingly, you punch her and I'll suck out some of her chakra, that will make it quick and painless," Kisame whispered to Itachi. Itachi nodded in agreement.

"I guess since I don't have a choice there's no point in fighting it. Can I get some stuff first?" Hotaru asked.

They were both surprised, everyone they had ever recruited always wanted a fight. "Sure," Kisame answered. So they told her to be back in an hour with what she wanted to take with her, but they also warned her not to do anything funny. Itachi followed her just in case.

At her home she took a quick shower because she had been training and wasn't sure if there would be showers where she was going. Then she grabbed a bag, threw some clothes, books, pictures and other various things into it. Itachi watched as she exited her home, but instead of going towards the rendezvous point she went to a house a couple houses down. _'I should have known she gave in too easily,'_ Itachi thought, as he was about to go down and get her, but the door she had knocked on opened. He got closer so he could hear and interfere if necessary.

"Hey Hisoka, is Choko home?" Hotaru asked to a handsome older boy.

"No she's on a mission," Hisoka answered. He was Choko's older brother.

"Oh, okay. Can you give this to her for me?" Hotaru asked while handing him a sealed envelope.

He took it, "Sure. Why all the secrecy?" he asked acting like he was trying to open it.

She gently slapped his hand away from the opening, "It's for your sister, and its stuff you wouldn't understand," she said turning to leave.

Hisoka grabbed her arm, "You okay? Normally you would give me more crap than that."

Hotaru put on her best fake smile that no one could see through, "Yep I'm fine, just some silly girl stuff," Hotaru answered. "Later," she waved.

"Bye," he said.

After the door closed she ran down the path, and picked up her bag that she had hid there. Then she started walking towards the woods when Itachi dropped down in front of her. "I said not to try anything funny. So if anyone gets hurt while I'm retrieving that letter it's your fault," Itachi said walking past her towards the house.

Quickly she grabbed his arm with both hands to stop him, "I was just saying goodbye…" Itachi looked at her hands then glared at her so she let go and continued talking, "Choko is like my sister, I had to say goodbye! I didn't say anything about the Akatsuki! Just that I was tired of being held back by scarce and easy missions. I promise!" Hotaru explained.

Itachi was very good at telling when people were lying and he could tell that she was telling the truth. "You talk too much," Itachi said going past her back towards where Kisame was waiting.

As they walked out of the village she looked back with a sad expression on her face. _'Bye,'_ Hotaru thought. They met up with Kisame then started traveling towards the Akatsuki headquarters.

Hotaru could easily stay quiet when she needed to be, but they had gone two days without barely a word spoken. It was driving her crazy and she already knew Itachi didn't like talking so she took a chance with Kisame. "So I see your from the Mist village, me too," Hotaru said.

Kisame opened the file, "Really?"

"Yeah, but when I was five we moved, because people were afraid and killing people with my Kekkai Genkai," Hotaru answered. Kisame nodded in response then there was silence again. A couple hours later, "Why are you guys so quiet? I'm surprised your voice boxes don't get rusty!" she blurted out randomly. They both stopped and looked back at her; Kisame looked amused, but Itachi looked pissed and he kept walking. Kisame waited for Itachi to walk ahead then started walking with Hotaru.

In a low voice he said, "Itachi's the one who doesn't like talking and he gets irritated easy. We have to spend a lot of time together so it's best not to bother him."

"So he's a porcupine," Hotaru said. Kisame laughed at her statement making Itachi look back. For the rest of the day Kisame talked quietly with her to keep her and Itachi happy.

Later they were making camp for the night and Hotaru had gone to refill her water canteen in a river nearby. "You know Itachi, this one isn't annoying like the others," Kisame said sitting down next to Itachi.

"They all start out this way until they get comfortable," Itachi responded. Kisame knew not to push Itachi so he dropped it. Hotaru came back and sat opposite from the two males. The awkward silence was killing her, but so were her feet so she unpacked her sleeping bag.

"Going to sleep already?" Kisame asked.

"Not much else to do?" Hotaru responded crawling into her sleeping bag. "Good night," Hotaru smiled before lying down all the way.

"Night," Kisame responded.

She closed her eyes waiting for sleep to overtake her when she heard, "Why are you being so buddy, buddy with her?" Itachi asked.

"She seems like a nice kid, and it's not like you're going to talk to her," Kisame answered.

"This is the Akatsuki, she's not suppose to be nice," Itachi said.

"It's our job to get her, not break her," Kisame said.

'_Break me!' _Hotaru thought. Then she quieted her thoughts to listen but they didn't continue talking. After hearing that it was impossible for her to sleep, _'I have to get out of here,'_ she thought hours later. Itachi and Kisame had fallen asleep a long time ago. She took deep breath and held it as she quietly slipped out of her sleeping bag. The fire was still giving off some light so she could see around her. Knowing her bag of stuff would make too much noise she had to leave it. After getting a couple feet from them she walked a little faster, but was just as careful looking back every so often to make her they were still asleep. When she was out of hearing range she took one last look then ran for it. She had been running for only five minutes when she was side swiped and rammed into a tree.

"Most people try to run the first or second night, but we expect that so I must admit you were clever to wait until the third," Itachi said still keeping her against the tree.

"I don't want to be broken," Hotaru responded. Her eyes were shut from fear not wanting to see what he might do.

Itachi mentally forehead palmed. Then he released her, "No one is going to break you. Kisame was just talking," Itachi said walking back towards camp and she followed.

The next morning her head was throbbing from when Itachi rammed her into the tree. "Got a headache?" Kisame asked because he didn't know what happened.

"Yeah," Hotaru answered. Kisame gave her some medicine and they left. As they were traveling she felt really tired and her vision kept getting blurry. "Can we take a break?" Hotaru asked.

"The headquarters is just another mile you can wait until then," Itachi answered not even stopping.

Hotaru didn't want to argue so she did her best to keep up with them, but as more time went on the harder it got. Her balance got worse and she slipped on a branch as she lost consciousness. Itachi being the faster one of the two caught her just before she hit the ground. "Is she sick?" Kisame asked.

'_Getting a concussion from something so trivial, how weak.'_ Itachi thought. Itachi handed her to Kisame. "She's your friend you can carry her." Then he started moving again. The hideout wasn't very far away and she weighed less then Kisame's sword so it was not a problem.

When they got there everyone was staring and when they got to Pain's office he wasn't very happy. "I thought I told you to be less violent," Pain said.

Kisame set her down in a chair, "We didn't do anything to her," Kisame said. Then he looked over at Itachi, "At least I didn't."

Pain looked over at Itachi, "She tried to run away, and I might have rammed her into a tree, but I've done worse and this didn't happen," Itachi said.

Pain shook his head then called for Konan, "Itachi gave this girl a concussion, once she's healed let Itachi know because he'll be taking care of her until she wakes up."

"What?" Itachi asked. Kisame laughed.

"You did this to her why should someone else have to baby-sit her?" Pain responded. Itachi mumbled to himself under his breath.

So Konan got one of the other girls to heal Hotaru and Itachi had to sit and watch until she woke up. He got lucky because it was only an hour after he sat down that she woke up. "Uh? Where am I?" Hotaru asked.

"On my bad list," Itachi answered standing up and leaving without another word. Pain saw Itachi leave the room, but called him back to it and they both went into it. Then he introduced himself and explained things to her. He gave her an Akatsuki coat, ring, a map and a list of rules.

"Now that you are feeling better and are up to date on everything, Itachi is going to show you around," Pain said.

"I don't think he…" Hotaru started to say.

Pain interrupted her, "Don't worry about him, he'll be happy to do it." He shot Itachi a 'you better be nice' look.

Itachi watched as Pain left and kinda jumped when he heard, "If you want I can just find my way around by myself and tell him I didn't want your help?" she asked right in front of him when seconds before she had been sitting on the bed.

"That won't work he's too smart for that," Itachi answered. So he showed her around and once the tour was over he was gone in the blink of an eye.

Hotaru felt hungry so she headed back to the kitchen. She made a simple sandwich and sat down to eat it. "Tobi get back here I'm going to kill you un!" Deidara yelled.

Tobi came running into the kitchen then ran behind the chair Hotaru was sitting in. "Please don't tell Deidara, Tobi is here!" Tobi begged.

She was about to respond when Deidara came into the kitchen. "I know you're in here Tobi! I'm going to kill…" Deidara yelled until he noticed Hotaru. "Oh hello there, you must be the girl that's got Itachi in a bad mood," Deidara said.

"I guess, but I don't know what I did," Hotaru answered.

"I'm Deidara, best artist around," he greeted.

"My name is Hotaru."

"And I'm Tobi!" Tobi said jumping up forgetting he was in trouble.

"I thought you were hiding?" Hotaru asked.

"You're dead now!" Deidara said.

She stepped in front of Deidara as he was running at Tobi, "What kind of art do you do?" Hotaru asked.

"I work with clay," Deidara answered.

"That's cool, so is that a hobby or a jutsu?" Hotaru asked.

"It's both."

"Interesting."

"Want to see some of my work?" Deidara asked.

"Sure." Wanting to help save Tobi from whatever Deidara might plan on doing to him Hotaru followed him to his room where he showed her some of his creations. He offered to blow them up so she could see, but she declined. She was walking back to her room when she heard some girls.

"Hey Itachi welcome back," a girl said with short red hair and eyes that matched that had her arm around Itachi's arm.

"Let go of him, Hisa!" another girl said that had wavy black hair that was up in a ponytail. She had gray eyes and was clinging to Itachi's other arm.

"You both should let go of him, Ishi," a third girl said with dark blue hair that was French braided, her eyes were green.

"Hisa, Ishi, Masago you have two seconds to get off and away from me!" Itachi said.

"You're such a kidder," the girls laughed. Hotaru couldn't help but notice that all three of them were dressed somewhat sluty under their Akatsuki coats. Itachi started counting and she decided to walk on. "Who is she?" Ishi asked.

"Your new best friend, now go bug her instead of me," Itachi said shaking them off. He would just slap them, but Pain made it perfectly clear that wasn't allowed. Once getting them off he teleported away.

"Hey you wait up!" Masago said to Hotaru. She stopped and waited then all three of the girls came over to her. After talking for a bit she was glad that not everyone was as quiet as Itachi and Kisame. Back in her room she found the stuff Pain had given her waiting for her. The ring was blue with an ice symbol. It fit her middle finger so she wore it on her right middle finger. Under her coat she found clothes and some heeled boots. _'When Pain pointed to the coat he said this is what you will wear so he must have meant the clothes too.'_ Hotaru thought. She put the clothes and her clothes in a drawer and hung up the coat in the closet. Itachi happened to walk by as she was setting out her stuff. She placed a picture of her family on the nightstand by her bed. He walked on, past her door just as she looked over at it, so she didn't see him.

Two months later Hotaru was doing missions and fitting in well. The only members she had problems with were Hiden, Zetsu, and Itachi. The one thing she wasn't happy about was the outfit she had to wear. After putting them on she discovered the shirt showed more cleavage then she was comfortable with, she wore spandex shorts under her skirt to help with that problem and she felt the boots made the whole outfit look sluty. Pain said that she would just have to get use to it like the other girls did. Instead she added buttons at the top of her coat so she could cover herself. Originally she planned to keep it zipped like all the guys do, but the girl's coats didn't have zippers or buttons.

She had come out of her room buttoning the two buttons she had added, "You shouldn't be so embarrassed, Hotaru," Hisa said.

"Yeah," the other two said.

"I feel better this way," Hotaru answered.

"Hotaru, Pain wants you in his office," Konan called.

"Coming," she answered.

As she approached his office she heard, "Why me?" Itachi said.

"I'm not putting you on a mission with her, I'm putting her on a mission with you. With Kisame sick you're out a partner and this mission is very important," Pain said.

"Come in already," Itachi said knowing she was outside the room. She slowly walked into the room. Pain explained the mission, which was that they would be killing Orochimaru, because he had been leaking information about their organization since he left.

They got some supplies and were leaving, "Take good care of Hotaru for us," Deidara said.

"Bye Hotaru, Tobi will miss you!" Tobi waved. She laughed and waved back.

They had been traveling for hours in silence as she expected. It was getting dark, "We'll make camp here," he said.

"Okay," Hotaru responded in her usual happy voice, which seemed to irritate him more then he already was. Itachi made a fire and Hotaru unpacked the food and started making the food. Later after they had eaten and were going to bed, Hotaru and Itachi were in their sleeping bags. "Itachi?" Hotaru asked.

"Hm?"

She turned on her side in her sleep bag facing him, "Why don't you like me?"

He stayed on his back with his eyes looking up at the sky, "Why do you ask such silly questions?"

"Forget it." Hotaru said shifting so her back was to him. _'I stay quiet for the most part, I don't cause problems, I've never done anything to him so he has no reason to be so cold hearted. From the way he treats me you would think I stole his favorite toy,'_ she thought then she made a decision that she wouldn't talk unless he spoke to her.

For the rest of the next day she didn't say a word even when Itachi said something she would nod or shake her head and if it was required a one-word answer. Itachi thought it was strange, but Hotaru was still all smiles so he didn't let it concern him. She did the same thing the next day and by the end of the day Itachi found it irritating like she was mocking him. "Let's stop to rest. It looks like it's going to rain," Itachi ordered. Hotaru just stopped and looked to him for further instruction. "There is a cave right this way," Itachi continued. She nodded in response and started following him. Itachi stopped abruptly and turned around super fast. "Is this your idea of a joke or are you just trying to piss me off?" Itachi asked inches from her face.

"You're very confusing. I thought you preferred it when I didn't talk?" Hotaru said.

"I do."

"Then why are you getting irritated because my lack of talking?"

"Because you're purposely not talking."

"That's because there is no point to it."

'_What am I doing? She's right I should be happy she's not talking,'_ Itachi thought, he turned around, "The cave is this way," Itachi said and for some reason he was hoping she would say something, but she didn't. They reached the cave just as it started raining.

"Looks like we won't be leaving for a while," Hotaru said watching the heavy rainfall.

"Yeah, you might as well rest now since we are close to Orochimaru's hideout," Itachi responded.

"So since this Orochimaru guy quit the Akatsuki does that mean anyone can?" Hotaru asked.

"No, he left because he tried to absorb me into his body but I beat him so he got scared," Itachi answered.

"Sounds like a creep," Hotaru stated. Itachi just nodded. "So…why did you join the Akatsuki?"

"For the reason of advancing in power," Itachi answered although protecting the leaf village was his real motive.

"I see," Hotaru responded. She was sitting on the floor by a fire they had started and Itachi was standing by the mouth of the cave. Itachi looked back at her and she was just gazing into the fire, thinking.

He walked over and sat across from her, "Why did you want to know why I don't like you?" Itachi asked.

She looked up, "Because you've always been so cold, treating me like I'm the plague. And I was just wondering why or what I did."

"It's nothing particularly personal, I just don't think girls belong in an organization like this," Itachi answered. His true reason in her case was that he was attracted to her, but felt like it was a weakness thus treating her like a plague that would weaken him.

"I get it so you don't like girls, that explains a lot," Hotaru said.

"I do too!" Itachi answered in a defensive tone.

"Oh so I guess you don't like strong girls then?"

"I would prefer strong over weak."

"So what's the problem then?" Hotaru asked.

"They're annoying." Itachi said.

"For someone who remains so clam and acts all cool you sure have a short fuse."

"You think I'm cool?" Itachi asked.

"Huh? No I said acts cool," Hotaru responded a little flustered.

Itachi let a small smile come across his lips, "You're blushing."

"No I'm not, shut up!" Hotaru said giving him a small push.

After that they were silent for a while. Then since the rain didn't stop Hotaru made some food and went to bed. She took off her coat and folded it into a pillow she was on her knees as she put it on down and Itachi for the moment could see her cleavage. He knew that he shouldn't be looking, but he did anyway while his cheeks turned a little pink. Once it was over he ridiculed himself for being so weak. The dirty dream he had about her that night didn't help much, but it was his own fault for letting his mind wonder into the gutter. Itachi no matter what stage of sleep he was in was always aware what was going on around him so when a small rock was thrown his way he woke up and caught it.

"Do you mind I'm sorta sleeping here," Itachi said throwing the rock off to the side.

"Funny because I was going to say the same thing,"

Itachi sat up and looked at her, "What?"

"For like the past hour you've been saying my name!"

"I have?"

"Yeah."

"Did I say anything else?" Itachi asked trying not to sound worried.

"I don't know, why?"

"No reason, now go back to bed we have a big day tomorrow." Itachi answered lying down.

"You're the one who woke me up!" Hotaru said throwing another rock at him before lying down too.

The next day they packed up their stuff and headed towards Orochimaru's lair. As they walked she tried talking to him like they had briefly done the day before, but he was back to his no talking self. He had to keep his mind off of her and pretending like she wasn't there was the best way for him to do that, at least while they were traveling. In her mind she guessed that he was mad at her for waking him up. Itachi gave her the sign to stop, which she did on command.

"Down there," Itachi pointed to a tree that was hollow. She nodded letting him know she understood. Just as he was about to tell her the plan the wind blew causing her silky blonde hair to sway making her look more beautiful and Itachi stood there taking it all in. That is until she threw a small rock at him, which he caught inches from his face. "Must you continue doing that?" he asked.

"You were just standing there like an idiot and it seems to be the most effective when getting your attention," Hotaru answered.

Itachi jumped over to the branch she was on looking very mean, "Let's get two things straight, I'm not an idiot! And I don't want you throwing rocks at my face! Got it?" Itachi grumbled.

If they hadn't been so close to Orochimaru's hideout Hotaru thought for sure he would be yelling. She nodded timidly while backing away from him. The idiot part was a joke and she knew he would catch the rocks before they hit him. "Sorry."

Itachi turned his back, "Let's go," Itachi ordered.

Inside the lair it was dark except candles on the walls. It was a place you could easily get lost in. The surroundings gave Hotaru the creeps so she was sticking really close to Itachi. He noticed it, but decided to let it be, thinking he would have to save her at one point so she might as well be close enough to make it less of an inconvenience when he had to do so. "Listen, Hotaru when we find Orochimaru I want you to let me handle it," Itachi whispered.

"What am I suppose to do?" she asked also in a whisper.

"You will take out Kabuto. He is Orochimaru's right hand guy so he probably knows as much about the Akatsuki as Orochimaru does," Itachi explained.

"Kay," she responded. Just then they heard a loud shriek of pain. "Does he torture people?"

"I don't know, but that was his voice. He switches bodies to obtain new jutsu and the time for him to switch is really close, which is why Pain wanted us to do it now," Itachi explained.

"Sorry you have to explain everything to me," Hotaru apologized timidly.

Itachi turned around facing her, "Look, Hotaru you need to toughen up. You're a member of the most feared organization around, you can't be seen being afraid like a little girl or apologizing," Itachi said sternly. Then he turned around and added, "Maybe you do need to be broken."

"You're telling me that there isn't anything you're afraid of. Or that you don't feel sorry for any of the bad things you've done?" Hotaru asked.

"No and yes. I don't have any fears and I have no regrets," Itachi said, even though it was a lie. "Now stop asking stupid questions and keep quiet." She did as she was told and just followed him down the endless corridor. At last they came to a door where Orochimaru and Kabuto were.


	2. Chapter 2 : Melted Hearts

New Akatsuki Member: Itachi Two Shot Part 2

_Last Chapter: Melted Hearts_

So Itachi and Hotaru are in Orochimaru's hideout and are just outside the room containing both Orochimaru and Kabuto. Orochimaru is in his weakened state due to his constant body switching, and the two Akatsuki members are there with orders to kill.

"If only we could get Kabuto away from him," Itachi whispered, but he was talking mostly to himself.

Hotaru took this as an open invite for her to do something. She started a series of hand sighs and Itachi didn't even notice she was doing anything until he heard a loud crash. He looked up to see a large pillar of ice that had pushed Kabuto through the wall into another room with the ice preventing him from getting back. "I'll go take care of him. Good luck!" Hotaru waved as if it was no big deal.

He was lost in thought and awe until he heard Orochimaru's snake-ish voice, "What business do you have with me?" Orochimaru couldn't see it was Itachi.

Itachi walked into the room, "Just to finish you off like I should have. It would have saved me so much time and trouble," Itachi answered.

"Itachi?" Orochimaru hissed. Then he sent snakes at him and the battle begun.

In the next room Hotaru looked into the room where her ice pillar had sent Kabuto. She saw that he was trying to get out from under all the debris, which he was struggling to do. _'Itachi stuck me with the easy guy, didn't he?'_ Hotaru thought looking at Kabuto.

"Who are you?" Kabuto asked after getting the final piece of concrete off.

Hotaru stepped into the room all the way, "I'm Hotaru, my friends sometimes just call me Taru, but no one at the Akatsuki are into nicknames so I don't get called that anymore," Hotaru rambled. She didn't like killing people so she would talk on and on to prolong what she had to do eventually.

Back in the room with Orochimaru and Itachi, they were battling it out but with Orochimaru already in such a weaken state it didn't take long for Itachi to kill him. Itachi took his weapon out of Orochimaru's dead body. He could hear the clashing of metal in the next room, _'She hasn't killed him yet?'_ Itachi thought going into the next room. When he got there he could tell Hotaru wasn't really fighting she was dodging and throwing shuriken and kunai. Since he didn't want to wait around for her to finally kill Kabuto, Itachi came up behind him and slit his throat. "You're pathetic," Itachi said looking straight at her.

She folded her arms and turned her back to him. Just because he didn't mind murdering people doesn't mean she had to feel the same. On the table in front of her was a book that said Akatsuki so she picked it turned and started to say, "Hey look what I…"

"Watch out!" Itachi called grabbing her free hand and pulled her to him then he put that hand around her waist, swinging to the side while using a kunai in his other hand to cut the head off a snake, which was Orochimaru's true form.

When he had grabbed her it all happened so fast that one of her hands was holding the book against her stomach and her other hand was resting right where his heart was. She could feel his heart beat, but it was her own heart that was going a million miles a second. He had killed the snake so there was no more danger, yet he was still holding her just as tight. Hotaru looked up at him to find him looking at her almost longingly. It was just too quiet and awkward for her so she used her hand to try and push away, but he didn't budge. Then she looked back up at him about to ask him why he wasn't letting her go when he got really close to her. His lips were an inch from hers and when he spoke she could feel the warmth of his breath on her face, "You really should be more careful," Itachi whispered. Just when she thought he might kiss her he let go of her and walked away.

She just stood there, _'What was that?'_ Hotaru thought.

"You plan on standing there all day?" Itachi asked in his normal irritated tone.

Hotaru wrapped her other arm around the book to try and calm the butterflies in her stomach before following him. She was so deep in thought about the whole thing she didn't say a word and neither did he until it was almost dark. "We will stay the night in this village," Itachi said.

"Why? I thought we were suppose to keep a low profile?" Hotaru asked.

"Because I'm tired of sleeping on the ground. Now take off your coat and put in your bag that way we will be keeping a low profile." Itachi answered. Like all the other times she did what she was told. Itachi also took his coat off and replaced it with a normal jacket.

In town they went to the only inn there. Hotaru laid out the money, "Two rooms please?" Hotaru asked with a smile.

The innkeeper pulled out a key and was holding it up, "We only have one room."

"That will do," Itachi said grabbing the key.

Hotaru quickly picked up the change and ran after him, "I think I'm going to go sleep outside see you in the morning," Hotaru said handing him the left over money.

He grabbed her arm as she turned to go, "How do I know you're not just going to run away?" Itachi asked.

"I've been on missions by myself. If I was going to run away again I would have done it already!" Hotaru answered.

"Sorry I can't take that chance," Itachi responded. Then he dragged her to the room and practically threw her on one of the beds. "You're lucky I didn't miss," Itachi said walking past her.

'_I think this guy is on something,'_ Hotaru thought. She was somewhat glad that she didn't have to sleep on the ground, but sharing a room with Itachi worried her. The rest of the evening was uneventful and they were both getting into their beds. Hotaru had just laid down when she started to ask, "So tonight when you start calling my name, what would you prefer I throw? A pillow, a book, a…"

Itachi teleported on top of her scaring her half to death, then he dropped a pair of ear plugs by her head and got really close to her face just like before, "Use these and we shouldn't have a problem," Itachi whispered and he made an emphasis on shouldn't.

"Right," Hotaru gulped. With her answer he was back on his own bed in the blink of an eye. _'Okay, now I know he's crazy!'_ Hotaru thought. She turned out the lamp that hung above her bed and snuggled in hoping for a happy dream to make her day seem less dreary.

Later that night Itachi was lying awake because he couldn't sleep when he heard Hotaru cry, "No please don't! Itachi stop, please!" He guessed she was having a nightmare that somehow involved him so he decided to have a little fun. So he got out of his bed and crawled into hers. Then he poked her shoulder causing her to wake up and since she had been in a scary dream him being there scared her and she fell out of the bed and landed on the floor. Itachi almost started laughing, but held it. "What is this Itachi, some kind of revenge?" Hotaru asked as she was picking herself up and getting back into her bed, not seeing that he was in her bed too. She remains sitting up in the bed waiting for an answer.

"Nope, I just thought I would wake you up from whatever nightmare you were having," he answered.

"How did you know I was having a nightmare?" She asked looking over at him.

"People don't normally say 'no please don't' when they're having a good dream, now do they?"

"Guess not," Hotaru answered looking away from him.

He lays down on his side facing her then asked, "So, what was I doing that you didn't want me to?"

"You were trying to kill me what else?" Hotaru said like it was an obvious question. Again she looks over at him.

Changing his position to his back Itachi thought, _'I guess I really scared her. Maybe I should apologize to…' _

"Why are you still here? Get out of my bed!" Hotaru said once she realized he was in her bed. She tried pushing him with her hands, but Itachi took them in his to stop her.

"You're not being very nice."

"Uh, hello you're the one who told me not to be nice! Now let go!" Itachi released her hands making her almost fall out of the bed again. "Why aren't you leaving?" she asked.

"This bed is more comfortable."

"I don't care! And it's your fault because you made me sleep here."

"Well I did pay for the room, so I can sleep wherever I want," Itachi answered using the only excuse he could think of to stay close to her.

"Grr," Hotaru mumbled lying down then shifted so she had her back to him. "Fine do whatever you want, just shut up so I can go back to sleep."

"So now you want me to sleep with you," Itachi mused.

She turned to find Itachi a lot closer to her then he was a moment ago. "Get over yourself Itachi. I've made my point perfectly clear it's not my fault you won't leave. Besides there are girls back at headquarters that would happily share their beds with you, I'm just not one of them," Hotaru answered then turned back to her previous position.

Afterward she felt his hand on her waist and it moved slowly across her stomach until it was somewhat tucked under her. Then she felt herself being pulled towards him and she was seriously about to scream until she heard him say, "That's what they want, not what I want." That wasn't very clarifying for her and by now she was fully up against him just as close as she had been earlier that day only facing a different direction. From using more pillows Itachi's head was slightly higher than hers making it easy for him to whisper in her ear, "I always feel the most lonely at night and when I'm close to you I don't feel as alone. So if you'll let me hold you just this one haunting night," he paused and slightly tightened his grip then sort of snuggled her as he continued, "I might be able to sleep through it for once." Tonight was the anniversary of the Uchiha massacre, where his grief, loneliness, and regret kept him from sleeping.

Hotaru didn't know what to say. She felt it would be cruel to turn him away since his request was innocent and so sincere. "Okay, Itachi, but in the morning you have to promise to tell me why this night haunts you," Hotaru answered after thinking a bit.

"I promise," Itachi answered in a normal tone then he whispered, "Thank you." She could feel and hear him smelling her hair, which kind of creeped her out. Although his gentle yet firm hold on her made her feel safe and it made her feel happy knowing she was helping him in some small way. Moments later Hotaru thought he might already be asleep so she was a little startled when she heard him say, "I'm sorry for frightening you and treating you badly. It's defensive mechanism."

"Why I was not attacking you?" Hotaru asked.

"It's something I do with everyone," Itachi answered partly lying because he did keep his distance by coming off as mean, but he had been mean to her in hopes of keeping his feelings for her from growing or coming out.

"Well you don't have to do that with me, and if you opened up to people more you might not feel as lonely." Hotaru said.

"Loneliness is what I deserve," Itachi whispered.

"What was that?" Hotaru asked not hearing him well enough. His rhythmic breathing told her that he had fallen asleep so she relaxed and fell asleep soon after. It was the best night sleep Itachi had experienced in a very long time.

The next morning Hotaru woke up with no arm around her and no Itachi anywhere in sight. She thought maybe he had gone to get supplies, because he had mentioned that they would need some for the rest of the trip back. Hotaru flipped off the covers and walked to the bathroom. There was no noise coming from the bathroom and it wasn't locked so it was a big surprise when she opened to find Itachi brushing his teeth with only a towel on.

Running out and closing the door, "I'm so sorry I didn't hear anything, and it wasn't locked or even closed all the way!" she apologized. Itachi opened the door since she was leaning against it she fell on her butt. When she looked up he was wearing pants this time, "Wow you change fast!" Hotaru stated.

Itachi put out his hand smiling, "Want help up?" Itachi asked. She gave him her hand and he helped her to her feet. "I'm all done in here if you want to take a shower or whatever," Itachi said. She nodded in response. "The water pressure is great."

"I do feel kind of dirty maybe I will."

"I'm going to go into the town to get the supplies that we will need so if I'm not here when you get out that's where I'll be."

"Okay, don't forget your promise," Hotaru smiled.

He turned smiling back at her, "I haven't."

Then he started walking out when she called, "And don't worry Itachi what happens on a mission stays on the mission." Itachi looked at her with an eyebrow raised and a confused look. "It means I won't tell anyone what you tell me or that you're actually a human being," Hotaru joked.

"Or last night?" Itachi asked.

"Every event that doesn't have to do with the mission itself or an event Pain doesn't need to know about will all stay right up here," Hotaru said pointing to her head at the end.

"Thanks," he said closing the door behind him.

Later after Itachi got back they were eating breakfast, more like lunch since they woke up late and he had just got done telling her the past behind the previous night. At first she thought he was making it up, but the sadness was written all over his face even though he was doing his best to conceal it.

"Wow Itachi that's so awful. I can't imagine having to be put in a situation like that!" Hotaru said. Itachi didn't say anything but just nodded. _'He must be in so much pain,'_ she thought. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that alone and you still are. But you don't have to, if you ever want to talk more about it or share your feelings about other things, I'm here."

"Thanks, it feels good telling someone I can trust," Itachi said. He could tell she felt bad, but he didn't want her to feel that way.

As they continued eating Hotaru was looking out the window that was next to the table when she saw Hisoka wondering the street. "Itachi I'll be back in a little while." Hotaru called half way out the door.

"Wait!" Itachi called but her speed only got faster. From the window he saw her run into the busy street below. He tried following her with his eyes, but she got lost in the crowd. _'What was it she saw?'_ he thought.

Once in the street where she saw him, Hotaru looked in all directions until she spotted him again. "Hisoka!" Hotaru called and waved. He heard his name and looked around then he saw her. Hotaru started walking over where he was, but he got to her first because he started running.

When she was in his reach he pulled her into a hug and as he did Itachi found her again and wasn't too fond of someone else being that close to her. Itachi then left to do some spying. "I missed you so much! I can't believe you gave me that whole 'it's a silly girl thing' excuse," Hisoka said.

"Sorry," she said feeling guilty.

"So what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just passing through. I'm leaving soon."

"Well you are just going to have to change your schedule," he replied.

"Hey Hisoka you can't go around hugging random girls! If you do that we'll never get missions outside of the village again," Choko said coming up in front of him so she couldn't see Hotaru. Hotaru turned around and Choko was speechless, but ran to her giving her a hug too. "Why would you leave without saying goodbye? It's not like you couldn't wait a day or so to say bye to your best friend and maybe ask if I wanted to go with you. I get bored too ya know."

"It wasn't that simple…" Hotaru started.

"Why is there a slash in your headband?" Hisoka asked.

"Uh, it's a long story…" Hotaru started.

"Hotaru," Itachi said leaning up against a building nearby still without his Akatsuki coat on. He tossed her bag, which she had left in the hotel. "I just got a message. We have to go now. You have ten minutes, you know where to meet me."

Hotaru knew he was giving her those ten minutes because when they got a message from Pain waiting ten minutes was not a smart thing to do. "Thanks, I'll be there," Hotaru, answered then Itachi teleported away.

"Who was that?" Choko asked as her high ponytail swayed from turning her head.

"Look guys, you've heard of the Akatsuki right?" she asked and they slowly nodded. "Well I didn't leave of my own free will, but I wanted to at least say goodbye to you, and give you a reason, but I wasn't allowed to tell you the truth at that point. So anyway, that guy just now and another guy came to get me that day because they wanted my Kekkai Genkai," Hotaru answered. It may have started out that way and although she missed her simple life and friends, this was her life now.

"Well then leave don't meet up with that guy, and come back with us?" Hisoka asked.

Itachi was still nearby wondering what she would choose. He wanted her to stay for his own selfish reasons, but knew she deserved a better life.

"I can't do that this…"

"Why not? They don't care about you?" Choko asked upset.

'_If I leave Itachi will be all alone again and he just started opening up to me,'_ she thought. She shook her head, "I can't. They wouldn't allow it. If I tried to leave that might even put you in danger." Hotaru knew that she didn't really want to leave, but that her friends wouldn't understand. She would give anything to have both people in her life, but knew that was impossible. Plus it wasn't like she could really leave if she wanted to anyway.

"You could at least try," Hisoka said. "We'll protect you, the whole village will."

"I can't…" Hotaru said.

"Did they brain washed you or something?" Choko asked.

Hisoka took her hand and started walking away taking her with him while saying, "Don't worry as soon as we get you back to the village you will be back to your old self in no time."

She twisted out of his grip, "I'm sorry, but like I said can't, please don't make this harder than it already is," Hotaru said tears escaping her eyes. They both looked at her with sad confused eyes and expressions. "I'm so sorry!" Hotaru wept before leaving.

Behind her she could hear them calling her, "Hotaru wait! Please come back!" They tried running after her but they lost her in the crowed street.

Itachi felt so guilty she had people who cared so much about her, a happy life that he was a part of taking her from. As much as he wanted her to stay, he cared more about her happiness. He teleported to the meeting spot and waited a minute or so before she came slowly walking up wearing her coat and everything. It was a little after one now, since they started out the day late and spent so much time talking.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Even if he hadn't seen her crying with his own eyes he could still tell that she had been.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go," Hotaru responded and she started to walk towards their destination.

Itachi put his arm out in front of her and she looked up at him confused, "If you want to go with them and leave I won't stop you. I can tell Pain you died during the battle with Orochimaru, that way he won't come after you again," Itachi said.

Hotaru examined his face; it was getting sadder the more he talked, "Were you listening?"

Itachi shook his head no lying then said, "They're your friends of course they asked you to leave and go back to your village."

"Do you want me to go?" she asked.

Itachi let out a small laugh, "I…" Itachi started to say, but the sound of weapons flying through the air reached his keen ears. The weapons were close so he pulled Hotaru out of the way and dodged most of them. There were small needles between the larger shuriken and kunai. The small needles were so small that Itachi didn't even notice the small cut on his right upper arm. Itachi used his phoenix immortal fire Ninjutsu on the ninja who had thrown the weapons. "We should leave, there are more coming!" he said turning to Hotaru. She nodded and they left. As they were traveling Itachi noticed she was moving sluggish he guessed it was because she was depressed. While looking back at Hotaru, he noticed she had just landed on a branch with a paper bomb. _'They must have anticipated that we might come this way,'_ he thought. Without hesitation he teleported to her grabbed her then teleported a safe distance away. Itachi was still holding on to her so as the bomb went off naturally she used him to cover her face from the debris. He set her down and they continued on their way with the other ninja following close behind.

"Who are those guys?" Hotaru asked not recognizing the headbands they were wearing.

"They are Orochimaru's followers, I'm guessing they aren't too happy about us killing him," Itachi answered.

After traveling for two hours still being followed Hotaru got an idea so she stopped for a second and made a thin clear layer of ice on various branches hoping it would slow the other Shinobi down. Itachi asked what she was doing since he couldn't see the ice on the trees. She jumped to the branch he was on, "Just trying to slow them down." Itachi nodded in response and they kept moving.

Hours later Itachi noticed she was getting slower, probably from not getting to rest. Knowing at the rate they were going the enemy behind them was bound to catch up, he stopped and waited for her to catch up. She stopped next to him and he could hear her heavy breathing. Even though she was 19 and trained a lot back in her village she was still a Genin by name no matter how good she did at the Chunin exams Hotaru never advanced and the village didn't give her a sensei either because they didn't want her to become too powerful. After joining the Akatsuki her skill remained around the same because no one there would train her or even knew she needed it and she didn't have a clue how to advance on her speed or endurance. From what Itachi witnessed it seemed she could only go super fast when she was excited about something.

"Do we get to have a brea…" Hotaru started to ask but stopped as Itachi picked her up bridal style.

"You do," Itachi answered starting to run and jump from tree branch to tree branch.

"Uh Itachi you don't have carry me I can run on my own."

"You started out slower then usual and have gotten slower. We will get caught in battle if we don't move faster," Itachi answered as he practically doubled his speed. Somehow Hotaru fell asleep as he carried her. Itachi started feeling strangely tired himself and luckily there was an old abandoned Akatsuki hideout nearby. It was still lockable, which made him very happy because even if the ninja caught up they wouldn't be able to get in. Laying Hotaru down on the grass gently Itachi opened the cave then picked her up and carried her inside.

Later when Hotaru woke up she stayed exactly where she was until her eyes adjusted to the darkness. While waiting for her eyes to get use to the dark she noticed that whatever she was leaning back on was moving up and down. Then she realized it was Itachi and that he had his arms around her like she was a teddy bear. He felt warmer than at other times and his breathing sounded forced. A second later it accrued to her that maybe her body weight might be making it hard for him to breathe. His hands were just one over the other so Hotaru gently picked up each and set them on the outside of each of his legs. After sitting up and scooting forward she stood up moving to his right side and sat down beside him. Since his breathing didn't get better she removed his headband and placed her hand on his forehead to discover he had a fever.

Her cold hand on his forehead woke him up, so Itachi reached up and took it in his, "What are you doing?" Itachi asked.

"Did you get hurt?" she asked back.

"No, why?"

"Are you sure?" Hotaru asked while poking his arm.

"Ouch!" Itachi cried jumping forward a little.

She felt a hole in his coat,"Where are our bags?" Itachi picked them up from his left side and placed them in her lap. After taking out a flash light she started a lantern for more light. "Can you lean forward a little?" she asked. And without a response he leaned forward so she took his Akatsuki coat off that side then Itachi leaned back against the wall. "Your wound is badly swollen almost like you've been poisoned."

"Pain is not going to be happy about us being late."

"I don't think tardiness compares to death."

"At least you won't worry about me being alone. Or keeping me company."

"Itachi don't say that I like spending time with you, when you're you and not the mean, cold, emotionless, mystery guy you pretend to be," Hotaru responded. She could feel tears gathering at the bottom of her eyes and as she thought about him dying they started following down her face.

Itachi used his left hand to wipe them away, "You asked me earlier if I wanted you to go. I never got to give you an answer." Itachi said weakly. He took a deep breath then continued, "I don't want you to go. You make me feel so warm inside, like I use to feel before…" he paused to stroke her cheek. "I love you. I'm sorry that I took you from your life and that I'll soon taken from it, but I…"

"Itachi stop! You can't die, you just can't!" Hotaru cried using her hands to cover her face while she cried.

Using what little energy he had, Itachi sat up and hugged her, once the hug was over and he was gazing into her beautiful green eyes, "At least I'm with someone I care about," he whispered before kissing her. Hotaru wrapped her arms around his neck while kissing back, it was the kiss she was waiting for, but now it didn't seem to matter as much.

Their foreheads and noses were still touching, "If you love me then don't die." Hotaru said after the kiss.

"That doesn't seem fair, if I ever had a reason to live, Hotaru it's now," he answered kissing her again this time it was more passionate. He could feel her warm tears falling as they kissed.

"I love you too Itachi and if you die I'll be alone! I can't bare the thought of you not being here with me. Please just hold on, I'll go get help and be back as…"

Hotaru went limp in Itachi's arms after he pinched the nerve in her neck that caused her to faint. If he was going to die he didn't want her to leave or for her to watch him die. He also didn't want to see her suffer the way she was. Itachi sat back up against the wall with Hotaru in his lap with her head resting on his shoulder; he placed his arms around her kissed her forehead and fell asleep.

Hotaru woke up the next morning in her bed at the Akatsuki headquarters. She looked around wondering if it had all been a dream. If it meant Itachi was alive, but still ignored her she would be happy with that. As she got out of bed she was still in her clothes so she knew it wasn't a dream. The only thing on her mind was Itachi, so she ran out of her room not even bothering to close it. She ran down the hall to Itachi's room, his door was closed and fear gripped her as she slowly opened it.

Relief rushed over her as she saw Itachi sleeping in his bed. He wasn't wearing a shirt and she could see that his wound was wrapped in bandages. She quietly and carefully crawled into his bed. However being the light sleeper that he was Itachi woke up and smiled seeing that it was her.

"Did you knocked me out? And how did we get here?"

"I didn't want you to leave me," Itachi answered her first question. He kissed her and she happily kissed him back. "When I opened the old hideout Pain knew and when we didn't arrive at the meeting he came to investigate. Then he brought us back here and gave me some medicine for the poison," Itachi explained.

She moved so that her back was to him and the moment she did he wrapped his arm around her and snuggled her, "I love you, Itachi," Hotaru said.

He kissed her on the cheek, "I love you too, Hotaru."

So they lived happily ever after! And the Uchiha clan made a major comeback! ^_~


End file.
